


What Would People Think?

by bluepulsebluepulse



Category: DCU (Comics), Young Justice (Cartoon), Young Justice (Comics), Young Justice - All Media Types
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Bluepulse, Boys In Love, Chicken Whizees, Deep Conversations, Drabble, Feelings, Feelings Realization, Flirting, It's about perception, Jaime's Bedroom, Life lesson, Love Confessions, M/M, Oneshot, Plot Twists, Speedbuggy, Twisted and Fluffy Feelings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-17
Updated: 2020-10-17
Packaged: 2021-03-09 03:02:19
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,025
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27057661
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bluepulsebluepulse/pseuds/bluepulsebluepulse
Summary: Will Bart and Jaime's love confession recover from the unexpected twist that crops up?
Relationships: Bart Allen/Jaime Reyes
Comments: 6
Kudos: 33





	What Would People Think?

**Author's Note:**

  * For [PaintingWithDarkness](https://archiveofourown.org/users/PaintingWithDarkness/gifts).



> Hi there, hoping you enjoy this miniature love confession fic.

It was a question that snuck around in the shadows of his consciousness. After all, there weren’t many places Jaime could tuck a private thought away and keep it hidden from Khaji Da. The all knowing scarab had a way of ‘dealing’ with things in its personal brand of insane logic. In all fairness, it was something that Jaime had actually discussed with Bart and the AI. 

_ What would people think of their relationship?  _

Of course, back at the time when it had first come up; it had only been meant in a friendship context. But for years now, Jaime had been pondering what a romantic relationship between them would look like. Hence the question sneaking around in the little room he had left in his head. He didn’t want to have this discussion with anybody; not his family, not his friends, not Khaji Da and not Bart.

Speaking of the speedster, he suddenly burst into Jaime’s bedroom with his usual level of overwhelming energy and spirit. Jaime nearly fell back from where he was sitting on the edge of his bed; kind of like the first line of defense of his charcoal, spiky hair - which was no match for Bart. 

“Hey Blue! How’s it hangin?”

Jaime side-eyed Bart as the speedster slung an arm cozily around his sturdy neck from beside him. With the velocity at which Bart entered his room, Jaime wasn’t sure how the speedster didn’t swing around his neck a few times like an eventful round of a ring toss tournament. Bart’s chirpy tone certainly had him halfway there with envisioning the convivial atmosphere of a carnival.

“Fine I guess... You?”

“I’m super crash,” he smirked evidently, “I’ve got a whole night to look forward to with my best friend in the whole wide world!”

“It’s a big world Bart.”

“And trust me…  _ no one _ knows that better than the fastest man alive!”

The emphasized chuckle came before Bart swung his legs up on the bed and flopped his head down into Jaime’s lap to look up at him with a smug grin.

“Besides… You’re not getting rid of me that easily.”

The only thing Jaime couldn’t get rid of easily was the red in his cheeks when Bart pulled these kinds of stunts. He couldn’t help but wonder whether Bart ever stopped to think before he acted; even if he was known for being impulsive. He had been getting close and cuddly ever since they were both kids, but they were both fully grown men now; and he still hadn’t grown out of it.

_ [“Jaime Reyes, you’re displaying signs of-”] _

_ “I know! ¡Cállate!” _

Bart watched intensely from Jaime’s lap as the Latino’s face twitched. Khaji Da. The speedster knew that meant some kind of conversation was going down. He decided to offer his assistance like the good guy he was.

“Whatcha thinkin about Jaime?”

The use of his real name threw Jaime for a loop; and it cost him big time. He finally slipped up and the question went heard.

“About us...”

Both of their eyes rounded for different reasons. Jaime was horrified at the softness in his tone which had implied a context he had never wanted anyone to consider. Bart was purely shocked at how bluntly the unexpected response had rained down upon him. There was no bed of windswept hair to duck under to hide, not that he felt the need to. It was just something he was aware of as the two maintained intense visual contact.

“I was just thinking about,” his tone wobbled like a drunk Dick Grayson on a tightrope, “how long we’ve been friends for!”

Bart hummed in thought and smiled as he thought about his collection of precious and invaluable memories with Jaime. There was something about being in the comforting warmth of Jaime’s lap that caused him to trip up on his own impulsivity. Call them both idiots…

“Have you ever thought about us being more than friends?”

The terrified look in Jaime’s - coffee gone cold - irises stirred a gripping fear in Bart, that caused him to begin wrapping his hands nervously together. A blush began rolling over Bart’s cheek like the storm cloud of embarrassment hanging over them both.

“ _ You know… _ Like even if it was just once? They say everyone does it?”

The weak chuckle that escaped his usually grin-plastered lips wasn’t even heard by Jaime who was in full panic mode. Bart was onto him! He thought he had done a pretty good job at hiding his feelings? But Bart wouldn’t be asking such a question if he didn’t have suspicions about Jaime having feelings for him in the first place. His paranoia spiraled out of control he literally began feeling dizzy and leaned back on one of his wrists for support.

“Umm,” he quickly searched for any emergency way out of answering, “Can you give me a minute? I need to deal with Scarab.”

Jaime tried scoffing to sell the lie, and it seemed like Bart bought it.

“Alright,” he swallowed nervously, “I’ll just go grab a packet of Chicken Whizees…”

A disappointed breeze rustled the quilt as Bart looked over his shoulder for what felt like a lifetime, but it was only a blink for Jaime. Knowing time was of the essence when it came to Bart, Jaime quickly scrambled into the dead center of his bed before bringing his knees close to his chest and wrapping his arms around them. That way, Bart wouldn’t be able to trick him into being vulnerable again by laying in his lap.

“I’m back!” 

The speedster froze as he observed Jaime’s change in seating arrangements. He slowly walked over and crawled onto the bed to finish sitting cross legged close to Jaime. His body was skewed at an angle to face out the window so that Jaime wouldn’t feel too intimidated by him; but it was the perfect angle to glance over at Jaime whenever he wanted without straining his neck.

“Don’t mind me Blue! I’m just gonna crash these Chicken Whizees while you talk to yourself.”

Bart flashed Jaime a cheesy grin clearly under the influence of nerves. Jaime nodded appreciatively without saying a word. As the Caucasian’s nimble fingers began wrestling with the seam of the plastic bag, he felt a heated stare on his neck. He looked over to catch Jaime glaring. It was clear he couldn’t think over the sound of cacophony of crinkling he was creating.

“Ooh. Ah. Sorry.”

Bart hastily looked away again and stared out the window as he quietly munched on his nutritionless snack. What he wouldn’t give to be where he was yesterday night, soaring through the majestic, El Paso sunset in Jaime’s arms. Meanwhile, Jaime fell into an argument with Khaji Da.

_ [“Why didn’t you answer the Impulse’s question Jaime Reyes?”] _

_ “Because-”  _ he blurted, catching himself before he confirmed his  _ emotional  _ feelings about Bart Allen to the Artificial Intelligence; because god help him when he did. They had discussed Jaime’s physical attraction to Bart  _ many _ ,  _ many  _ times before. But Jaime had managed to explain with great difficulty that sexual attraction is only one of many factors that should be considered when entering into a romantic relationship. Luckily, he had gotten out of explaining what those other factors were to the robot who chased after immediate gratification when it seemed simple enough.

_ [“I have been doing some research on human behavior, and I believe I know about the factors you neglected to inform me of in the past. You exhibit them all Jaime Reyes. Recommended tactic: Ask the Bart Allen for a romantic relationship.”] _

And there it was. It was like time slowed down and all he could hear was the particularly loud crunch of a proud mouthful of Chicken Whizees in Bart’s chipmunk-chubby cheeks. In slow motion of course, it sounded like a billiard ball hitting the edge of the table,  _ and hard _ . The realization certainly hit him as hard. 

“I love Bart.”

Just as Jaime began thinking about how this was something he couldn’t run away from - because this was more than a silly crush - a distant gasp caught his attention. Then a second life-altering realization struck him, he had said that louder than the fistful of half chewed chips Bart was now choking on.

“ _ Dios mio! _ ” he whined over the speedster’s hopelessness, “ _ Bart! _ ”

Jaime moved with speedster-like energy, quickly positioning himself behind the man whose back was almost as broad as his own now -  _ when had that happened? _ \- before initiating the Heimlich maneuver.

Bart managed to swallow the remainder of his mouthful and tried his best to ignore the outrageous amount of pain as it descended down his throat like an elevator before spilling into the lobby of his stomach. A swarm of butterflies flew back up the elevator shaft concealing anymore nasty sounds before they could come out.

Once he was certain he wasn’t going to choke to death, Bart spun around freakishly quickly to face Jaime in all his record-setting, flustered glory.

“Do you actually love me?  _ Jaime? _ ”

There was something about Bart’s tone that pleaded for the truth, the honest truth. Jaime recoiled from Bart’s personal space and folded up on his knees as he tried not to look as uncomfortable as he was feeling.

“ _ Si. _ ”

Bart allowed only a second to pass for the universe to completely flip as he and Jaime remained stationary in that moment. He would never see the world through his old eyes ever again.

“I love you too.”

The proud and firm admission came from an excited grin that bowled Jaime away.

“¿Qué?”

The smile widened and his eyes just sparkled. He got ready to punctuate every word with the level of happiness exploding like fireworks inside of him.

“ _ I. Love. You. Too. _ ”

“But- But you  _ can’t _ ?”

Bart started chuckling incredulously at the  _ last  _ response he ever expected to come out Jaime’s mouth. 

“ _ I can’t? _ ” A few seconds of confusion fell between them. “Why not?”

Now was not the time to be focusing on how cute Bart’s voice was. He didn’t understand how Bart could be so amused. How did he not see the bigger picture at play? The question almost bubbled out of him as he literally shook a little whilst managing to blurt it out.

“What would people think?”

“What do you mean?”

“I  _ mean _ ! What would people think? I’m the guy who tortured you in the future! You’re not supposed to fall in love with me!”

Any magic in the lighthearted atmosphere was now officially dead. However, Bart was still soft as he looked at Jaime with pity. The scarab-wearing superhero should have known better by now. The speedster wasn’t sure how they still hadn’t moved past this. Just as quickly as he had wondered what had enforced this, the answer came pouring rather hoarsely out of Jaime’s throat.

“I’ve heard some of the team talking about how weird it is that we’re best friends. I can’t even imagine what they will say if we start dating? And what will your grandparents think?! They know how I treated you in the future!  _ And their kids too! _ How will your parents feel when they find out? They may not remember it,  _ but you do!!! _ And you’re forced to live with that!”

Before Jaime’s uncharacteristic show of a panic attack could get any worse, Bart gently grabbed onto Jaime’s biceps and leaned forward looking deep into his eyes.

“ _ Woah, woah, woah! _ Slow down there Jaime.” A small smile tugged at his lips hearing those words come out of his own mouth, and that already made a world of difference to Jaime. “It doesn’t matter how other people  _ feel  _ about it. It only matters how  _ we  _ feel.”

Jaime tried to look away and Bart lightly squeezed on Jaime’s muscular arms to get his attention back because he wasn’t finished. There was such a hook to Bart’s soft voice it was intoxicating. Jaime knew regardless of the logic of Bart’s argument, he would give in anyway.

“Firstly, you couldn’t be more wrong about Barry and Iris. They  _ really  _ want us to get together. Iris won’t admit it, but I reckon she even made a bet with Barry that we’d end up together. You’re the  _ one time  _ I’m actually willing to swallow my pride and let her know she was actually right about something.”

Some relief pooled in Bart’s emerald eyes as Jaime cracked a small smile.

“Secondly, if my parents are anything like they are in the future. Then they will be nothing but supportive. Thirdly, I only feel  _ crash  _ when I’m with you. I never think about the past anymore. I think I’ve managed to repress it all, save for the occasional nightmare. But you know what makes me feel better?  _ Thinking of you!  _ Just think what an upgrade it will be for me to  _ wake up  _ next to you when you're shirtless!”

Jaime rolled his eyes and gave up as a proper smile settled on his lips hearing the genuine excitement in Bart’s voice. He tried one last crack at a soft resistance.

“What if people think I’m still just a mission to you?”

He felt like it was a fair point. People could assume that Bart was only with Jaime as part of a long term plan to keep him on mode; even if deep down his insecurity  _ was  _ one of those people.

“You think I’m not going to be able to convince people how  _ wildly  _ attracted to you I am?”

The older of the two stiffened at the challenging look in the younger one’s eyes. Suddenly, Bart began crawling towards Jaime across the duvet with a lustful glint in his eyes. Jaime began scrambling backwards but found Bart pinning his feet down, but the rest of him kept running with his hands. 

Bart grinned victoriously as Jaime unwittingly spread himself lengthwise so that he could slide up the hunk’s body in one graceful glide. He teasingly inserted his right leg between Jaime’s thighs and chuckled at the pleasured whimper that went streaking past the guards on the field of Jaime’s tongue.

“Khaji Da,” the speedster grinned with authority, “Override protocol two three six nine seven. Share the results of my vitals scan with Jaime.”

Jaime’s jaw dropped as Bart adjusted the parameters of his scarab like a technical genius, before he beamed proudly with nothing to hide.

[ _ “Initializing scan. Scan complete. The Bart Allen is displaying extremely high levels of arousal and oxytocin. He speaks the truth. Biological signatures cannot be simulated. Recommended tactic-” _ ]

“Let me guess,” he huffed with irritation, “I should have sex with Bart.”

Bart’s eyes shone with mirth as Jaime panicked realizing he was speaking out aloud again. Oh the effect Bart had on him, it just wasn't fair.

“ _ Well _ I for one think that’s a  _ very  _ crash idea.”

“We’ve- we’ve never even kissed before?” he stammered as Bart began leaning in and short circuiting his brain with body language instead of verbal commands. “ _ I mean… _ other than that one accident, that one time.” He chuckled nervously at the memory he kept tucked fondly under his pillow until it was safe to pull out again at night.

“ _ Oh _ , that  _ wasn’t  _ an accident.”

Bart tilted his head and bit his lip as he grinned something wicked.

“You are something else,” he shook his head with a smirk that should have known better.

“ _ Anyway _ , Jaime. I feel so  _ crash  _ about us! I just hope that you care more about how _ I _ feel, and about how  _ you  _ feel too. You can never please everyone in life. Life’s too short to care about that kind of biff. There’s nothing more moded than looking back on a missed opportunity…”

The surprisingly profound words of wisdom floated around in Jaime’s mind; which remained in a rare state of quiet as the scarab let Jaime decide how he would proceed. He knew that Bart was genuinely in love with him as well. It had seemed like he was genuine too when he had said that the future stuff between them didn’t bother him at all. Maybe Bart  _ would  _ be able to keep helping him with letting go? And suddenly, it all came down to a new question.

_ Who was the one and only person he could picture by his side for the rest of his life? _

“You’re right,” his hands slowly came to rest on the waist of the athlete’s ripper body in a way he had never dreamed he would get to do, “I want you Bart.”

“ _ Crash...  _ Coz I want you too,” he grinned at the ridiculousness of it all, “ _ Jaime. _ ”

The two knew what they had to do. Jaime took a moment to savor the awe of the handsome speedster gazing down at him. Then he finally lifted his head off the pillow, reaching to connect his lips with Bart’s. It had been a long time coming; and the slow, passionate kiss almost represented that timeframe. 

Inevitably, the speedster just couldn’t wait any longer; but his plan to get things moving along quicker hilariously hit the highway when he panted and let drop one sentence.

“ _ God _ . You were  _ so  _ worth the wait.”

Even as a speedster, Bart couldn’t have prepared for the action-packed response triggered in Jaime by that one-liner. Bart chuckled as his eyes gasped when Jaime flipped them suddenly. In control of everything, particularly his feelings for Bart, Jaime put them to good use. The taller of the two grinned as he found himself tasting Chicken Whizees deep in Bart’s mouth; that had to be  _ the most _ predictable flavor he could have ever expected. The two shared a knowing laugh over it when their lips disconnected from one another but not from their bodies.

The pair reveled in how magical it was to laugh, smile and enjoy their way through an act so intimate. For the rest of the night, they only showcased their true feelings for one another on a level so raw it floored them; much like one another’s performances. It was true, they had something special. It may have taken some time to get there, but now they had forever.

**Author's Note:**

> I'd really appreciate a comment if you enjoyed the fic :)
> 
> I've also been inspired by a few ideas I explored in this fic, so you might see some interesting works in the future... ;)


End file.
